The Pearl
by Danielle Salvatore
Summary: "Katniss I…." He broke off to close his eyes for a few moments, unsure of what to make of this information. "You kept it for all these years? Why?" "It makes me feel safe." Short one-shot. Fluff.


The Pearl

**A/N: This was written as a present for my beloved friend Tess! I hope you like it :)**

**Hopefully this doesn't turn out too bad. First ever Everlark fic, so I am a bit nervous.**

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Peeta Mellark stared down at the sleeping woman in front of him.

It was times like these where he felt the most at peace….where he could just watch his wife sleep soundly, looking so content, and a fine contrast to how she was awake.

Katniss wasn't normally a heavy sleeper. Years of constantly being on alert had made her a light one, so it wasn't often that he was graced with the sight of her sleeping soundly.

However, it had been happening more and more often these days and he had a pretty good idea as to what had been tiring her out so much.

Peeta smiled softly as he gently reached down to touch the cause of Katniss's tiredness, careful as to not wake her up.

On his wife's stomach was a bump. And not just any bump.

Their baby.

He smiled warmly as he rested his hand on that very spot…the place where their child was currently growing and developing.

It had taken him years to convince her. About fifteen years in fact. But he finally had. And now they were on their way to having their first child.

The first few months of her pregnancy had been hard. Though she had tried hard to put on a brave face, Peeta knew her well enough to be able to tell she was terrified. All he could do was take care of her and try to convince her to the best of his ability that it would all be worth it in the end.

Fortunately, things have been a bit better lately. Other than a few moments of fear and occasional grumblings about not being able to hunt with the bump anymore, Katniss was slowly beginning to handle her predicament better.

Peeta removed his hand from his wife's belly and turned to leave the room.

But just as he was about to turn away completely, he spotted something peculiar.

Sitting in the grasp of Katniss's hand was a pearl.

Frowning in bewilderment, Peeta carefully took it out of her hand, placing it in his palm and looked down at it.

He'd never seen Katniss holding it while she slept before and yet….something was familiar about it.

A soft gasp escaped his lips as a swirl of memories suddenly hit him….memories that were both terrible and wonderful.

He began to remember the quarter quell. Finnick. The mutts. Almost dying.

And then that light at the end. The one last good thing that happened before everything had gone to hell.

His moment with Katniss on the beach. And that gift he had given her.

A pearl.

He looked back down at the pearl sitting in the palm of his hand, realization hitting him in waves.

This…couldn't be the very same pearl, could it? Katniss wouldn't have held on to it for all these years….

But then again, why else would she be sleeping with a pearl gripped in her hand?

As if noticing the pearl's absence, Katniss began to move slightly and soon enough, her eyes opened, revealing the hues of silver-grey that he loved looking into so much.

"Peeta, what time is it?"

Katniss blinked her eyes a couple of times to fully wake herself up and then sat up in the bed.

"About 10:45 in the morning", her husband answered, closing his hand around the pearl to hide it from her view.

She scowled in a typical Katniss-like fashion. "You should have woken me up at least a hour ago."

Peeta shrugged. "It's a slow day", he reassured her. "And you need your rest anyway."

"Still…you shouldn't let me sleep in so late. It's a waste of time." Katniss sighed, before she discreetly closed her hand. Then, as if realizing the pearl was gone, her eye began to dart around the room in such a sneaky way that anyone who didn't know her well wouldn't be able to tell she was doing it at all.

"Looking for this?" Peeta showed her the pearl. "I found it just sitting in your hand while you were sleeping."

Katniss's cheeks tinged the slightest pink. "Peeta I…."

"Katniss", he said softly and gently. "Is….is this what I think it is?"

He knew she would be able to tell what he meant.

After what seemed like a moments' hesitation, she silently nodded.

"Katniss I…." He broke off to close his eyes for a few moments, unsure of what to make of this information. "You kept it for all these years? Why?"

Katniss didn't say anything at first, and her silver eyes glassed over in brief thought, obviously trying to think of a way to respond.

Finally, just when Peeta had been about to tell her that she didn't need to tell him if she didn't want to, she spoke.

"It makes me feel safe."

That would explain why she had been clutching it in her sleep. But nonetheless, the answer surprised him.

"It makes you feel safe?" He parroted for clarification.

She nodded shortly. "It reminds me of you."

Peeta inwardly laughed lightly at the idea that he, Peeta Mellark, could make Katniss Everdeen-Mellark feel _safe._

"What?" Katniss said shortly and he realized it had been a while since either of them had said anything.

"I just find it hard to believe that _I _make _you_ feel safe", he confessed honestly, with a small air of humor at the end.

It was the complete truth.

Katniss frowned sternly, suddenly patting the spot on the bed next to her. "Come here."

Peeta silently nodded and did what she asked, throwing the covers over them both.

"You've always made me feel safer Peeta…in more ways than one", she murmured softly as they wrapped their arms around each other. "And you always will."

Despite her earlier annoyance at him letting her sleep in, Katniss was asleep again only about ten minutes later and Peeta could only guess that she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before.

He smiled again and kissed both her forehead and stomach before slowly getting out of the bed.

He figured that despite her earlier protests, she could use some rest. And in the mean time, he could get some work in the bakery done.

Before he left the room, he gently uncurled his wife's fingers, placing the pearl back in her hand's grasp.

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**A/N: Nothing extremely special, but eh, I thought it was sweet. Hope you liked it Tess :) (And everyone else to of course)**


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